(a)U.S. H5/H7 Avian Influenza Monitored State, Layers. (1) A State will be declared a U.S. H5/H7 Avian Influenza Monitored State, Layers when it has been determined by the Service that:

(i) All commercial table-egg layer flocks and all commercial table-egg layer pullet flocks that supply those flocks in production within the State that are not exempt from the special provisions of this subpart B under § 146.22 are classified as U.S. H5/H7 Avian Influenza Monitored under § 146.23(a) of this part;

(ii) All egg-type chicken breeding flocks in production within the State are classified as U.S. Avian Influenza Clean under § 145.23(h) of this subchapter;

(2) If there is a discontinuation of any of the conditions described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, or if repeated outbreaks of the H5/H7 subtypes of avian influenza occur in commercial table-egg layer flocks as described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, or if an infection spreads from the originating premises, the Service shall have grounds to revoke its determination that the State is entitled to this classification. Such action shall not be taken until a thorough investigation has been made by the Service and the Official State Agency has been given an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with rules of practice adopted by the Administrator.

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0007)

In a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 9, 2014, and effective on August 8, 2014, we amended the provisions of the National Poultry Improvement Plan by, among other things, amending the standards for the U.S. H5/H7 Avian Influenza Monitored classification. In that amendment, we incorrectly indicated that table-egg layer flocks may qualify for U.S. H5/H7 Avian Influenza Monitored status if they meet one of three testing and surveillance requirements, when we should have indicated such flocks must meet all applicable listed testing and surveillance requirements to qualify. This document corrects that error. We are also making several other minor edits for clarity.

We are amending the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP, the Plan) and its auxiliary provisions by removing the descriptions of specific tests and sanitation procedures from the regulations. Instead, we will require tests to be performed and sanitation to be maintained in a manner approved by the Administrator. Approved procedures will be listed in an NPIP Program Standards document, which we are making available on the NPIP Web site. In addition, we are establishing new compartment classifications for defined subpopulations of primary breeding turkeys, primary egg-type chickens, and primary meat-type chickens. We are also providing new or modified sampling and testing procedures for Plan participants and participating flocks. The changes in this final rule were voted on and approved by the voting delegates at the Plan's 2010 and 2012 National Plan Conferences. These changes will streamline the provisions of the Plan, keep those provisions current with changes in the poultry industry, and provide for the use of new sampling and testing procedures.

This is a list of United States Code sections, Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents, which provide rulemaking authority for this CFR Part.

In a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 9, 2014, and effective on August 8, 2014, we amended the provisions of the National Poultry Improvement Plan by, among other things, amending the standards for the U.S. H5/H7 Avian Influenza Monitored classification. In that amendment, we incorrectly indicated that table-egg layer flocks may qualify for U.S. H5/H7 Avian Influenza Monitored status if they meet one of three testing and surveillance requirements, when we should have indicated such flocks must meet all applicable listed testing and surveillance requirements to qualify. This document corrects that error. We are also making several other minor edits for clarity.

We are amending the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP, the Plan) and its auxiliary provisions by removing the descriptions of specific tests and sanitation procedures from the regulations. Instead, we will require tests to be performed and sanitation to be maintained in a manner approved by the Administrator. Approved procedures will be listed in an NPIP Program Standards document, which we are making available on the NPIP Web site. In addition, we are establishing new compartment classifications for defined subpopulations of primary breeding turkeys, primary egg-type chickens, and primary meat-type chickens. We are also providing new or modified sampling and testing procedures for Plan participants and participating flocks. The changes in this final rule were voted on and approved by the voting delegates at the Plan's 2010 and 2012 National Plan Conferences. These changes will streamline the provisions of the Plan, keep those provisions current with changes in the poultry industry, and provide for the use of new sampling and testing procedures.

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 31, 2014.

9 CFR Parts 56, 145, 146, and 147

Summary

We are proposing to amend the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP, the Plan) and its auxiliary provisions by removing the descriptions of specific tests and sanitation procedures from the regulations. Instead, we would require tests to be performed and sanitation to be maintained in a manner approved by the Administrator. Approved procedures would be listed in an NPIP Program Standards document, which we would make available on the NPIP Web site. In addition, we are proposing to establish new compartment classifications for defined subpopulations of primary breeding turkeys, primary egg-type chickens, and primary meat-type chickens. We would also provide new or modified sampling and testing procedures for Plan participants and participating flocks. The proposed changes were voted on and approved by the voting delegates at the Plan's 2010 and 2012 National Plan Conferences. These changes would streamline the provisions of the Plan, keep those provisions current with changes in the poultry industry, and provide for the use of new sampling and testing procedures.